What Was Sex Ed Like in Your School Days? Is It Just Me or Is It Actually Getting Worse?

Sex education tends to be a kind of controversial topic, and my home state of Ohio is drumming up a real stir this week. If you haven't read about it in the news, let me sum it up for you: The state legislature is voting on a bill that would prohibit sex education that condones "gateway sexual activity" and would enable parents to sue for up to $5,000 if their child receives such education. Gateway sexual activity, if you're wondering what the heck that is, is pretty much any sexy touching beyond hand-holding or kissing (unless you're in Tennessee, and then maybe those things too. Sheesh!).

Maybe people in more traditionally blue states think this is how it always was in the more conservative Midwest, but that wasn't how it was for me! I know my experience doesn't speak for everyone, but growing up in Ohio, I actually felt like I got a pretty decent education where sex was concerned—and that's saying a lot, considering I spent five years at a Catholic school. That was in middle school, and although clearly a Catholic education is going to focus on abstinence, we also had a class called "Family Life," where we learned about reproductive systems, so it's not like sexual health was completely off limits. And when I got to public high school, I didn't feel like the faculty was encouraging sex or anything (and I don't think we ever got one of those famed condom-on-a-banana demonstrations), but I did learn about birth control and disease prevention and lots of other things I think teenagers should know about even if they're not doing them. Plus, while my parents weren't exactly busting out pamphlets and lectures on a daily basis, I always knew my mom was there if I had questions.

And how did that work for me? Pretty great. I can tell you that even in an abstinence-focused world, I think I always knew I wouldn't be waiting for marriage, even though I was nowhere near being sexually active at the time. And when I got older and did have sex for the first time—yes, as a teenager, but also as legal adult—I was prepared and safe. That's my anecdote, and I'm sticking to it. It was a really good foundation for being responsible later in life. I'm a very firm believer that more education is always a good thing and a lot more effective than pretending high school kids will definitely stay abstinent if that's all you tell them about.

And that's why I'll be nervous for the kids of Ohio—and elsewhere—today if they're stuck with the Coach Carr from Mean Girls philosophy: "At your age, you're going to have a lot of urges. You're going to want to take off your clothes and touch each other. But if you do touch each other, you will get chlamydia...and die." So helpful, thanks! But judging by these "Sex Ed Horror Stories" the Huffington Post rounded up (seriously worth a read for some jaw-droppers), that's what a lot of people experienced. Did you?

What do you remember about sex ed? Do you wish you'd learned more? Less? How do you think kids today should be educated about this topic?